December 2010

Moonves to Google TV: Pay Up

If Google wants access to the broadcast networks’ top prime-time shows for its fledgling Google TV product, they are going to have to cough up some cash. At least, they will have to for CBS’ shows. According to CBS CEO Les Moonves, Google TV is not going to get his networks’ content “for zero dollars” -- and his plan is to approach the product cautiously. “Google TV is very interesting,” said Moonves on Dec. 7. “I'm not sure what it is. I'm not sure what it will do to our business. I know Mr. Schmidt thinks we have our heads in the sand, but I beg to differ.”

New Data on Internet Access Services

This report summarizes information about Internet access connections over 200 kilobits per second (kbps) in at least one direction in service in the United States on December 31, 2009, as collected by FCC Form 477. Form 477 gathers standardized information about subscribership to Internet access services in the fifty states, District of Columbia, and inhabited insular areas (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands). The information is reported by telephone companies, cable system operators, terrestrial wireless service providers, satellite service providers, and other facilities-based providers of advanced telecommunications capability.

FCC Ownership Rules Decision Won't Come 'Til At Least Q2 2011

According to Federal Communications Commission Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake, the commission's review of broadcast ownership rules will not be completed before March 2011.

He said that the FCC is still in the process of commissioning "eight or nine" studies, getting the last commission out the door only this week. The FCC said it needed the studies to provide a "bottoms-up review." He cited an absence of funding and some "contracting difficulties" with not having gotten the last study out the door until this week. Lake said the studies typically take four months to be completed, then the FCC has to vet them. "We will try to get a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking as soon as we can," he said, "but that has to be after we've seen the result of the studies so we know what the facts are." Specifically, the FCC is looking at five rules: the local TV ownership rule, the local radio ownership rule, the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule, the radio/TV cross-ownership rule, and the dual-network rule.

FCC Media Bureau to Broadcasters: Help Us Structure Spectrum Auctions

Federal Communications Commission Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake suggested to broadcasters that the FCC needs to look at taking spectrum back from broadcasters who are not capitalizing on the digital "dividend" to operate more efficiently.

He said that "some broadcasters are making good use of this spectrum dividend; others are not. This means it is inevitable that, as we look for sources of spectrum, one place we need to look is broadcast spectrum that is not being efficiently used." But he said that while it "may be tempting to be wistful about the way things were...this is your chance to be part of the solution by working creatively with us."

The FCC is planning to reclaim as much as 120 MHz of broadcast spectrum, and launched its effort to do so at its last monthly meeting Nov. 30. It proposed rules to reclassify broadcast spectrum so that wireless broadband is also entitled to use it, allowing for channel sharing by broadcasters, trying to make the VHF band more DTV-friendly and increasing opportunities for flexible use. Lake said he wanted broadcaster input on those proposals. "We would love to receive the constructive input of people in this room on the ideas in that Notice, and on each of the future steps that will be necessary to implement the proposal." But he suggested that input needed to be informed by two facts: "The stratospheric growth of wireless broadband use" and "that the digital transition makes it possible to transmit broadcast TV programming more efficiently."

Panel Backs Waxman For House Commerce Committee Ranking Spot

Apparently, current Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) is likely to retain his spot as the top Democrat on the House Commerce Committee in the 112th Congress when the GOP takes control of the House.

Chairman Waxman was approved as the ranking member by the House Democratic Steering Committee. The full Democratic caucus is expected to vote Dec 9 on whether to ratify the steering committee's vote on Waxman's spot and other committee ranking posts. Rep Waxman has served as chairman since 2009 when he successfully challenged the panel's longtime top Democrat, Rep John Dingell (D-MI) for the chairmanship.

Ex-Tribune CEO Erased E-mails

Randy Michaels, the former CEO of the bankrupt Tribune Co., is in the hot seat again for erasing emails and data related to the ongoing controversy over bankruptcy reorganization plans from his computer, after a forensic examiner was unable to locate the relevant messages and data.

However, the examiner was able to retrieve 15 emails from the ex-CEO's corporate phone. The loss of the emails on Michaels' computer may not be an insuperable obstacle, since Tribune should also have copies of the emails on its servers; investigators are currently trying to locate them there. However, it's not clear whether the other data (which wasn't described) was duplicated anywhere else; Tribune is recovering "back-up" tapes from September 2009 which may contain some of the deleted data. Meanwhile, the company's current management is asking the Delaware bankruptcy court to investigate the circumstances surrounding Michaels' deletion of the emails and data, and is also requesting that Michaels' colleagues and associates save all their email exchanges with him, to allow examiners to reconstruct missing exchanges.

Google says shut out of USDA cloud computing deal

Google didn't get the chance to compete for the largest federal government "cloud computing" deal yet announced, according to the company, adding to its concerns that government agencies are unfairly favoring rival Microsoft.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it was moving 120,000 of its employees onto email, Web conferencing and messaging systems provided over the Internet by Microsoft, generally referred to as "cloud computing." The move is the largest of its kind by a federal agency and the first by a cabinet-level department in a growing area that is hotly contested by Microsoft -- which has long provided technology to local and national governments -- and emerging competitor Google, which offers cheaper but less well-known online alternatives.

The USDA said its move to the cloud was part of a deal signed in May with computer-maker Dell Inc to provide online services from Microsoft. The government agency, which oversees the U.S. farming, agriculture and food industries, said it had been working with Microsoft and Dell for the past six months on the project, which it said would cut costs and improve efficiency. Google, which claims its services save more money than Microsoft, and that its presence in a bidding situation usually means lower prices regardless of who wins, said it had no opportunity to formally bid on the contract at any point.

USDA moves to the cloud

The Agriculture Department announced that it will become the first Cabinet-level agency to move to a cloud-based messaging system.

The system will use Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite -Federal cloud collaboration tool and will consolidate 21 messaging systems into one. BPOS-Federal, which will serve 120,000 users, will contain all of USDA's enterprise messaging services, which include e-mail, Web-conferencing, document collaboration and instant messaging, according to a department news release. The shift will begin in early 2011. "USDA's IT modernization will allow us to streamline our operations and help us use taxpayer dollars more efficiently," Chief Information Officer Chris Smith said in a statement. "With a focused cloud roadmap, we saw a clear opportunity to help achieve our cost savings and consolidation goals and tap into the promises of the cloud." USDA did not provide an estimate of expected savings. Smith said the move was similar to car ownership: "Basically, the car we owned was getting ready for a major engine overhaul. All our servers were at least three years old. We're going from owning the car and paying for the tires, the oil and the upkeep to basically buying a Zip car that's wherever we need it, whenever we need it."

Happy Birthday, Open Government Directive

[Commentary] One year ago, President Obama kicked off a bold experiment in making the federal government more open and participatory.

The administration's Open Government Directive required federal agencies to tell the public how they will become more transparent, participatory and collaborative. During the past year, agencies have made significant progress toward these goals, but there is still a long road ahead. They will need additional support and direction from the administration to become more accountable to the public. But we believe the process Obama set in motion can be a transformative one. The primary success of the Open Government Directive to date has been developing infrastructure that makes information more available to the public and that increases opportunities for people to provide agencies with input and feedback.

[Carolyn Lukensmeyer is founder and president of AmericaSpeaks, a national nonprofit that engages citizens in policymaking. Patrice McDermott is director of OpenTheGovernment.org, a coalition that seeks to promote openness and reduce secrecy in government.]

ITIF: Fresh Approaches to STEM

Is the United States getting it wrong when it comes to educating tomorrow’s innovators in critical fields? We have known for years that the only way to compete globally in information technology, engineering, nanotechnology, robotics and other fields is to give our students the best educational opportunities possible. But do we have a successful formula when it comes to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education? This report challenges our approach to STEM education and argues that reforms are urgently needed to better match the talents of students, the needs of employers, and our goals as a nation.

Benton

Search